Triple Aught Design

Great gear for work. Originally started with the military community in mind, now popular with the hipsters and air soft nerds. Pretty expensive but quality gear non the less. Easy parking and no thrills shop. If you are LE/​military you get a discount, if you’re just a hipster you don’t.

There are companies that treat you like they’re lucky to have your business and companies that treat you like you’re lucky to be doing business with them. TAD is the latter.
They make great stuff and I’ve been a loyal customer for a few years now which means I’ve done a bit of business with them. 3 knives, 2 backpacks and countless other pieces of gear. That being said, their customer service sucks. When I have respectfully pushed back against rigid return/​exchange policies I’ve been met with condescending rudeness sprinkled with elitism. The same holds true when I’ve had issues ordering items online.
Yes they make great products. If that’s all a Unilocal review took into consideration I’d give them 5 stars, but due to the value I place on my interactions with a company’s customer service I feel that 2 stars is generous. Companies like Goruck make incredible products while treating their customers in an appreciative and respectful manner. Those are the kinds of companies I choose to patronize.
To be fair, all of my experiences have been online only. I’ve never set foot in one of their retail locations but after the experiences I’ve had with them I have no desire to.

Great products and training classes. I love the way the store has been remodeled. The sales staff are excellent. Laid back and knowledgeable.

I used to be a customer. Great products, poor customer service.

It’s all about the outfit, right? Ok Im not into paramilitary clothing at all, but 5 stars because this place totally cracked me up. Clearly intended for off duty cops and San Franciscans who want a tour of duty in Dogpatch, TAD is someone’s zero dark thirty dream store. Go read a Richard Marcinko book and then come here for your outfit so you can be prepared for your next black ops mission.

TAD Gear has amazing, rugged clothing and hard goods for the tactical practitioner, outdoorsman/​woman, or adventurer. The style is great, the industrial warehouse retail space is totally
The retail staff are super passionate, easy to talk to, and helpful. It’s striking that this company cares very much about where their materials are sourced from. Not only do they want their gear to be manufactured in the USA wherever possible (and it’s not always possible, due to capabilities of factories in US vs. Asia), but they even want all the underlying materials to be sourced here as well.
Case in point, over recent years they have brought their merino wool T-​shirts from Made in China back to Made in USA. With some of their other wool goods, they can’t yet source them in the USA (wool is from New Zealand, for instance), but they are trying. I learned all of this just by having a conversation with the awesome and highly educated staff.
This type of thing is extremely rare for a company these days, and it’s this type of fanatical attention to detail that makes TAD Gear worth the extra $$.

Best pants EVER.

Triple Aught Design is a complete rip off. Not because they sell bad stuff but because they run their business like a bunch of first graders. Just look at their web site. Most of their products have been out of stock for quite sometime. Some say this is by design so they can hike up the price on an artificially hard to get item. I don’t know.
You look at great business models like goruck who’s quality is as good or better than TAD and the kool aid starts to wear off.
COME ON PEOPLE shopping for quality goods is a drama free event. You should be able to go on their site and purchase their product with out a hassle.
TAD are jerks and their good quality items can’t hide that fact.
Stop buying their products and watch how quickly their business model changes.
Trust me on that.

I give them five stars because of the quality of their merchandise, defiantly made to last. Never had any return issues so I’m not familiar with the return policy, but I’m sure they stand by their name. But what really impressed me about their outdoor wear is they carry sizes up to 3XL I spend more time in the gym than I do on the trail but with tad gear at least I have that option. Great job guys! Keep up the production of great tactical gear and wear.

Great products in the dogpatch area in San Francisco. Parking sucks. but this is a pricey shop but the products are made in California. Quality of there pants, shirts Jackets are made with thoughts and great detail. They are closed on Monday.

Incredible quality outdoor gear. I have worn and thoroughly abused several of their jackets and packs for many years. They are the best, but price out the rest.
They lose two stars for decreasing quality of customer service as they’ve become more successful and expanded.
No pack replacement parts are available what-​so-​ever. I find this totally unacceptable. You’d be surprised how virtually impossible it is to replace one of their sternum straps… even using generic parts.
Their staff is still really helpful otherwise. But personality only goes so far if you can’t deliver. A company so devoted to excellence in product needs to be equally devoted to service and support as well.

The two times I have been to the Dog Patch location I found the store was cramped with clothes and gear and not really the kind of place to try things on so this review is focuses on their online store.
I placed an order late on Thursday and had it shipped to north of Seattle by Tuesday morning. Received email with tracking numbers as soon as order was completed. Their online fitting guide was pretty spot on. Everything was well packaged and did not have any defects. The quality of the clothes is good and the fit works well if you are a little rough on things. Overall worth the investment for a few keys things.

Awesomeness all the way. I ended up coming to the original location just to complete my pilgrimage.
Setting of this place is perfect, wide opening warehouse with great items wall to wall. Same level of CS at both location, knowledgeable crews.
Yes the price is astronomical to say the least, my credit card gets most work out than Crossfit can only dream of.
At the end of the day I look at my shopping bag and wonder «did I get what I really need?» and my answer is f**k yeah, tad gear.

Some of the products, the ones that are sewed in San Francisco, are really nice. The staff of the shop are however, complete poseur douchebags. Oh please let me throw in the term «wannabe» also. After I purchased two $ 280 fleece jackets from them and had the main zipper fail on both, I was told «yeah we can replace the zippers, it’ll be 60 bucks each and it will take about three months to get back.». This was on a three-​month old article of clothing that I had worn maybe ten times.
Perhaps their keyboard warrior persona are friendlier or better at what they do than they are in person. I hope so for their sake. Or maybe their poseur wannabe clientele just like to buy «gear» in order to fantasize about what life is like outside their cubicles. Either way, I’m not impressed and these fakes will not be fondling any more of my hard-​earned Ben Franklins.

Their stuff is nice but absolutely outrageously expensive! This is Gucci wear for airsofters with mommy & daddy’s credit cards. They cut the store size in ½ from last time I was there and now the same shorts have more than doubled in price. I won’t be returning in the future.

Used to be a great shop with great attitude.
Just bought shirts there on sale.
Find out there were holes in both; when I came back i was told that was they were on sale.
It was never described as defective at any point.
They do not stand behind their products any more. Too bad.

I would give TAD 4 – 5 stars because the gear I own from them has lasted me (for the most part) for the 4+/- years I’ve been a customer and is good quality — not the super extreme awesome quality that the «Legion of TAD Fanboys» likes to brag about, but pretty good nonetheless. I’ve experienced button and stitch failure on shorts just from every day use (nothing major, though) and a VERY noticeable degradation on a pack strap.
HOWEVER — I give it three because of certain aspects of their business model, and the fact that TAD has become something of a uniform for Bay Area airsofters and gear addicts who devote their entire paychecks to keep up their «TAD Addiction.» I haven’t bought any of their recent releases for these very reasons, and downsized my collection considerably so as to not be labeled along with them.
I’m reasonably certain that the staff are aware of the cult following that their merchandise has; dudes with no lives and too much money await new releases like wild hyenas, and buy the «limited production runs» of gear within the first hour or so of being posted to the website.
Even with the above, they still choose to limit the production runs (to ensure «quality,» which is debatable considering the little things that have failed in some of my TAD apparel) so that the smart dudes buy up all the stuff and sell it to Asian Gear Collectors, or AGCs, on eBay. Then they promise more runs and the fanboys get riled up and the process begins anew.
This results in there being little to no stock of certain merchandise, especially in «common» sizes (S-​XL). Relying on a core group of consumers to buy out merchandise at the expense of other, unfortunate customers is unacceptable.
I also hate how the «old» store in the Dogpatch has taken on a hipster-​ish setting (the website, too, for that matter) as opposed to a store that provided hard-​use goods to discerning customers. TAD used to sell a variety of brands and gear, but now it’s mostly just their apparel. I feel like TAD is now the HUF or Hundreds or Stussy of the outdoors world… which is kind of sad. Alas, so it goes.
TAD still get points for the occasional release of something that, truly, no other company can provide. They also have a good (albeit smaller selection) of non-​TAD goods, like Surefire lights and batteries, edged tools, and what have you. And their shorts are the best shorts I have worn in my life… But the TAD of today is DEFINITELY not the TAD of two years ago.
I will shop here for the occasional jacket, pair of pants or little accessory but for the most part, the hype has killed it for me.

Ahhh, Dogpatch. This is the more industrial-​looking store, larger, and in fact, the first TADGear store. Now renamed Triple Aught Design, this store carries the premier selection of outdoor clothing, outerwear, jackets, and base layering.
You absolutely get what you pay for. A premium gets you premium quality clothing made in America and it shows. High quality stuff, you get addicted by their products after the first chance purchase of their gear. Their customer service at this store is also fantastic, they went above and beyond for us.
Here I also left with minimal damage, a Fisher Space Pen with the Triple Aught Design logo on it.

Triple Aught Design (which from now on will be referred to as TAD gear), is one of my favorite companies of all time ever. My review consists of the store and of the company in general.
I heard about the company through some friends who were/​are in the military and through some shooting buddies. They swore by their jackets, and I was in the market for a new one so I said «hey, why not?» Fell in love with the Spectres and Rocketworld’s Ronin jacket. I was going to make the online order but my friend happened to stop by their storefront in the Dog Park and pick them up for me.
Love that the jackets are made in the U.S.A., and ones I got also had a made in CA tag too. The craftsmanship is superb — they really pay attention to the details here. High quality materials, zippers are sturdy, and it is amazing to use these in the rain (the water just beads up and falls down).
Other items I have bought:
*Laptop Bag: Sturdy and Roomy!
*Comm Case: a lot of gear uses JUST molle, but TAD attaches Velcro and provides both horizontal and vertical straps. I attach this to my go-​bag and throw my phone in there for easy access. Can also easily hold some cards/​cash or a small point and shoot camera
*Shorts: High quality with plenty of pockets!
What I really love about TAD gear is their attention to quality customer service. If you are on Facebook, they are actively involved on their fan page. Sometimes people on facebook think that posting a question/​complain on the fan page is more appropriate than let’s say, calling or e-​mailing their customer support directly. This would annoy some people, but the employees at TAD are always helpful and even address the concerns presented on facebook. It’s the little things that count.
To elaborate more on the customer service, I share some stories that friends of mine have had in dealing with them:
–during last year’s Triple Play Weekend, my friend Justin bought a Spectre LT and after comparing it to mine, noticed that one of the side pockets was not sewn up all the way. He brought it back the day after, willing to drop it off for a fix or find a comparable product, but they did a clean exchange, no questions asked.
–another friend of mine, Brian, bought a customized Strider knife. They called him the SAME DAY that he made his online order to let him know there was a tiny scratch, and if it was okay to delay the shipping ONE DAY so that they could get it fixed.
–I left my jacket out in my car on a hot day, and the adjustable straps on the sleeve of my jacket got separated (the rubber from the Velcro) since, I assume, the glue melted. I asked them if there was a glue or a fix that they recommended, but they offered to fix it for me after I shipped it to them.
***The Store
I’ve been to the actual store a few times and the staff has always been courteous, helpful and friendly. They will go out of their way to «check the back» (which so many of us like to ask retail employees to do) in case something is not showing on the shelves. I haven’t been there since the remodel, but curious to see how it looks. What I love about the staff though is that they are patient, and do not exhibit any «Elitist» behavior that I have seen from employees at other stores that sell outdoor/​survival gear.
TAD is increasingly in popularity. I have not purchased anything in the last few months, but if you see something you like, buy it fast! They can sell out quickly, since everything is made in small batches (which sucks if you can not buy anything when you see it, but awesome because of the high quality control). There are even companies trying to compete and make knock offs (see: Condor and 5.11).

This is the place I have been searching for my entire adult life. I’m a fan for a number of reasons.
1. Their gear is really well made. They did their homework when designing things. The slotted buttons, double knee/​seat are things of beauty and practicality.
2. They are local, and support local industries. Most items are USA made, but a few are even California made, which is nice to see. I also like the fact that I can stop by after work and shoot the shit and browse with no pressure to buy something.
3. They are helpful. Three items that I own were found in the back by an employee double checking on the sizes they had. I seem to be one of the most common sizes, so stuff goes pretty quick.
Only real issue I can think about is that most of the stuff is small batch made, so if you are not on top of your game, you very well could miss out. Not a big deal, but I can see that pissing a few people off. But, small batches generally means better QC, so I’m OK with that.
Some people might balk at the price of entry. $ 95 for a pair of cargo’s is steep, but compared to a shitty pair of $ 65 Timberland pants that wear out twice as fast, its a better deal. Plus, they will last. much longer than your average pant because of the design and material quality.
Keep up the good work guys